Powerful typhoon slams into the Philippines

Fishermen secure their boats in the bay of Santo Domingo, Albay province on December 25, 2016, as typhoon Nock-Ten approaches. Babies, toddlers and old people were loaded onto military trucks in pouring rain in the Philippines on December 25 as tens of thousands fled the path of a powerful typhoon barrelling towards the disaster-prone archipelago. PHOTO: Charism SAYAT / AFP

A powerful typhoon with gusts reaching 235 kilometres (146 miles) an hour made landfall in the eastern Philippines late on Sunday, the state weather service said.

The eye of Typhoon Nock-Ten hit the remote island of Catanduanes just after 6:00 pm (1000 GMT), the weather service announced on its official Twitter site.

There were no immediate official reports of damage or casualties.

The military and local governments have moved more than 100,000 people from the coasts and other hazardous areas of Catanduanes and nearby areas of the Bicol peninsula after experts warned of possible huge waves, floods and landslides.

The typhoon, the strongest to hit the disaster-prone archipelago this year, was forecast to sweep west into the country’s most densely populated areas including the capital Manila over the coming hours and on Monday.